Abstract

Abstract This paper studies the thermal effect on axially compressed buckling of a multi-walled carbon nanotube. The effects of temperature change, surrounding elastic medium and van der Waals forces between the inner and outer nanotubes are taken into account. Using continuum mechanics, an elastic multi-shell model with thermal effect is presented for axially compressed buckling of a multi-walled carbon nanotube embedded in an elastic matrix under thermal environment. Based on the model, numerical results for the general case are obtained for the thermal effect on axially compressed buckling of a multi-walled carbon nanotube. It is shown that the axial buckling load of multi-walled carbon nanotube under thermal loads is dependent on the wave number of axially buckling modes. And a conclusion is drawn that at low and room temperature the critical load for infinitesimal buckling of a multi-walled carbon nanotube increase as the value of temperature change increases, while at high temperature the critical load for infinitesimal buckling of a multi-walled carbon nanotube decrease as the value of temperature change increases.

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